Sat Nov 23 16:26:59 UTC 2024: ## COP29 Climate Talks Stall Amid Funding Dispute: Developing Nations Threaten Walkout

**Baku, Azerbaijan –** The UN Climate Summit (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, has spilled over into overtime with little progress on a crucial new global financial target. Negotiations, originally scheduled to conclude Friday, continued late into Saturday as developed and developing nations remained deeply divided over the New Collective Quantitative Goal (NCQG).

The proposed NCQG, aimed at preventing catastrophic global warming, has been raised to $300 billion annually by 2035, a significant increase from the previously offered $250 billion. However, this figure is still far short of the $1.3 trillion that developing nations believe is necessary. Frustration boiled over, with representatives from the Least Developed Countries (LDC) bloc and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) briefly walking out of negotiations, citing the inadequacy of the offered funding.

“We have temporarily walked out but remain interested in the talks until we get a fair deal,” stated Evan Njewa, chair of the LDC. Critics like Dipak Dasgupta, a Distinguished Fellow at The Energy Resources Institute (Teri), condemned the proposed funding as insufficient, arguing that developed nations should have committed to a far larger sum beforehand.

While some analysts point to a positive step in the commitment to triple finance flows through specialized funds, others remain skeptical. A negotiator, speaking on condition of anonymity, criticized the inclusion of multilateral financing institutions’ contributions as misleading, claiming it doesn’t represent additional funding. This, the negotiator stated, is an attempt at manipulating the narrative rather than achieving meaningful change.

The protracted negotiations mirror past climate summits, such as COP25 in Madrid, which also ran overtime before reaching a widely criticized, watered-down agreement. The outcome of COP29 remains uncertain as talks continue.

Read More